London Pavilion

Infobox Theatre
name = London Pavilion

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caption = Façade of the London Pavilion in 2002
address = Shaftesbury Avenue
city = Westminster, London
country =
designation = Grade II listed
latitude = 51.510278
longitude = -0.133889
architect = James Ebenezer Saunders (1885)
owner = Burford Group
capacity =
type =
opened = 1859
yearsactive = 1859–1934
rebuilt = 1900 & 1918 Wylson & Long
1934 converted to cinema by F Chancellor
closed =
othernames = 1859 London Pavilion Music Hall
production =
currentuse = Trocadero Centre
website = www.londontrocadero.comThe London Pavilion is a building located on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Coventry Street on the north-east side of, and facing, Piccadilly Circus in London. It is currently a shopping arcade, and part of the Trocadero Centre.

History

The first building bearing the name was built in 1859 for Loibl and Sonnhammer, and was a music hall formed from roofing the yard of the Black Horse Inn. A gallery was constructed, but it could not utilise the full width, as one part of the premises was used by Dr Kahn’s "Delectable Museum of Anatomy" [ [http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/PavilionFiles/OldPav.htm "The Old Pavilion"] (Arthur Lloyd). The site includes a photograph of the premises. Accessed 25 October 2007] .

In 1885, Shaftesbury Avenue was built through part of the site and a new London Pavilion Theatre was constructed, opening on 30 November 1885, with a popular review [ [http://footlightnotes.tripod.com/20060722home.html "The Entr'acte, London"] , Saturday, 5 December 1885, p.6a (Footlight Notes). accessed 13 October 2007] . The new theatre was the first "music hall deluxe" with marble-topped tables (for dining in the auditorium). According to Charles Stuart and A.J. Park in "The Variety Stage" (1895) the rebuilding signalled a new era of variety theatre:

"Hitherto the halls had borne unmistakable evidence of their origins, but the last vestiges of their old connections were now thrown aside, and they emerged in all the splendour of their new-born glory. The highest efforts of the architect, the designer and the decorator were enlisted in their service, and the gaudy and tawdry music hall of the past gave way to the resplendent 'theatre of varieties' of the present day, with its classic exterior of marble and freestone, its lavishly appointed auditorium and its elegant and luxurious foyers and promenades brilliantly illuminated by myriad electric lights"

The success of the venture, lead its owner, Villiers, to form a limited company, this became the first combine of music halls, "Syndicate Halls Ltd". Lupino Lane made his London début here in 1903, as "Nipper Lane" ["Oxford Dictionary of Biography" "Lupino Lane"] .

Between 1912 and 1936, the theatre presented a regular programme of musicals, these included Noel Coward's first success, "On With the Dance" in April 1925. There were appearances by Sir Harry Lauder, and, in October 1921, the American actor and vocalist Clifton Webb appeared here in "The Fun of the Fair" and again in October the following year as Phidas in "Phi-Phi". In 1923, electric billboards were erected for the first time on the side of the building [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41455 "Shaftesbury Avenue", Survey of London: volumes 31 and 32: St James Westminster, Part 2] (1963), pp. 68–84 accessed October 13, 2007] .

In 1934, the building underwent significant structural alteration, and was converted into a cinema, at a cost of £70,000 by F. G. M. Chancellor, of Frank Matcham and Co. It was the venue for the première of many films including "The Curse of Frankenstein" in May 1957 for which the foyer was done up to look like Frankenstein's laboratory, complete with the Monster in a tank [Sinclair McKay (2007) "A Thing of Unspeakable Horror: The History of Hammer Films": 35] . In 1986, the Pavilion closed its doors forever as a theatre. The interior of the building was gutted, and converted into a shopping arcade, preserving only the 1885 façade and the outer walls and roof. A wax figure exhibition opened in the building that same year, run by the Madame Tussauds Group, called "Rock Circus". The exhibition consisted of waxworks of famous rock and pop musicians. The "Rock Circus" exhibition closed in September 2001.

In 2000, the building became part of the Trocadero Centre, and signage on the building was altered in 2003 to read London Trocadero.

The basement of the building connects with Piccadilly Circus tube station and the rest of the Trocadero Centre.

The London Pavillion now houses "Ripleys Believe It or Not!", a visitor attraction dedicated to the weird, the unusual and the unbelieveable.

References

* "Guide to British Theatres 1750–1950", John Earl and Michael Sell pp. 123 (Theatres Trust, 2000) ISBN 0-7136-5688-3
* "Who's Who in the Theatre", edited by John Parker, 10th edition revised, London, 1947, p.1429.

ee also

*Piccadilly Circus
*Shaftesbury Avenue

External links

* [http://www.londontrocadero.com/ Trocadero Centre]